If you are a US citizen and have served or are serving in the military, then it can be quite tough for your family members if they are pursuing higher education as your family will be constantly relocating and you will have to keep enrolling your family members into new schools. You and your family members will however, be eligible for certain amount of tuition fee discounts.
Educational benefits for military families
When it comes to education, the military ensures that it offers all, if you are an active, reserve or National Guard service member, your spouse and family members will get a variety of education benefits. These discounts are applicable if you are serving in uniform or are a retired-veteran.
The various education benefit options include:
- College Loan Repayment Program (CLRP)
- Tuition Assistance
- Tuition Assistance Top-Up
- New GI Bill
- Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty (MGIB-AD)
- Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserves (MGIB-SR)
Tuition fee discounts enjoyed by military families
- Active military members can avail one low flat tuition rate for all educational programs which can be up to about 45%
- Retired veterans can get a discount of about $1,000 to $2,000 per year under the Yellow Ribbon GI benefits
- Spouses of active duty military members can get a tuition fee discount of 25%.
Benefits of Education and Tuition Assistance Programs
Though each form of service offers its own education benefits which are quite similar to each other, the army offers comprehensive education and tuition assistance programs. This is dependent on three basic factors like:
- Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) helps in paying 100% of the tuition fees if you are an active duty soldier with, up to $250 per credit hour. As part of the Army Continuing Education program, you can use the TAP amount to pay for classes which you can also use for advancements in the education.
- College Loan Repayment Program (CLRP). This is applicable if you have existing student loans while joining the Army you can clear it with CLRP instead of signing up for the GI Bill. You can get around $65,000 of your college loans in return for a three-year active duty enlistment.
- Dependent Children Scholarships includes the MG James Ursano Scholarship Program established by the Army Relief Fund (AER) offered for dependent children attending college.
The frequent movement and relocation of the family members can make it quite difficult for family members to complete college and higher education. Owing to this, the Army offers a set of educational programs which makes enrolling to a course and pay for the existing education loans quite easy.
